By Jonty Ralphsmith
Casey came from 20 points down early in the last quarter to finish its round one game against North Melbourne VFL drawn 10.16 76 to 11.10 76 at Casey Fields.
The Kangaroos’ Geordie Payne snapped a shot from 25 out just wide of the goal face with just seconds remaining, confirming the match would finish in a stalemate.
It followed a quick transition play started by Dandenong Stingrays graduate Ben Hopkins who took a game-saving intercept mark and quickly turned defence into attack.
Separate to his miss in the dying seconds, Payne scored a behind to level the scores at the 29-minute-mark after a Tom Fullarton contested mark and goal gave the Demons a one-point lead.
Chance Doultree, Noah Yze and Tyler Edwards each scored goals between the eight and 18-minute-mark of the last stanza.
Casey led for just five minutes of the last quarter after dominating general play and field position for much of the early stages, but failing to put goals on the board.
The Dees should therefore have opened up a sizeable buffer by three quarter time, but their first 14 scoring shots yielded just three goals.
Recovering from conceding the first three goals of the last quarter showed great maturity, particularly given the absences of skipper Deakyn Smith (suspension) and Tom Freeman and Mitch Hardie (injury).
The Dees were much better around the footy, winning clearances, the disposal count and laying more tackles.
The effort was led by Gippslander Riley Baldi, returning after a year of playing only local footy, who finished with 32 disposals, 10 clearances and five tackles to provide important experience on the footy.
He was well-aided by first round draftee Harvey Langford, who looked accomplished with 22 disposals after getting a taste of AFL in round one, and Casey debutante Riley Bonner (35 disposals).
Youngsters Mitch Kirkwood-Scott and Jesse Craven were others to show positive signs.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Casey municipality, Richmond VFL hosted Coburg in its round one clash at Holm Park, Beaconsfield.
The club has played preseason matches and previous VFL matches, as well as conducting training sessions in the region, and it proved a happy hunting ground for the Tigers, who won 13.10 88 to 11.9 75.
With the Berwick Show on down the road, plenty flocked in for some Sunday morning footy, with Narre Warren’s Sam Toner debuting and finishing with 12 disposals and two contested marks as part of a potent forward line.
